Toy airplane



Aug. 27, 1935. L, 1 FENCKE 2,012,424

TOY AIRPLANE Filed Sept. 27, 1955 Patented Aug. l27, 11935 naar garni"Fries rox.7 AInrLANE p Leo I. Fincke, Chicago, Ill. AppiicationSeptember 27, 1933, SerialNo. 691,100

13 Claims.

My invention relates to toy airplanes and is chiefiy concerned with animproved method and apparatus for throwing a plane, whereby the planemay `be thrown easily with considerable speed and accuracy andadjustability of direction.

Another feature is the overcoming, in part at least, of the frictionaldrag of Ithe throwing member when the plane separates from it.

Another feature of the throwing apparatus is that it also serves asaflanding skidA whereby the speed of the plane is checked before theWings come in Contact with the ground, whereby the wings are partlyprotected against breakage by impact in landing.

The foregoing, together with further objec-ts and features lof myinvention are set forth in the following description of specificv`embodiments thereof and illustrated in the accompanying drawing,wherein:

Fig. l is a plan View loi" the planek apart from the throwing stick; Y

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the plane of Fig.l;

Fig. 3 is a Vertical transverse section through the fuselage 'takenalong the'line 3-3 of Fig. 2 looking rearwardly; Fig. 4 is a sideelevation of the plane similar to Fig. 2 butshowing the throwing's'tickapplied thereto; Fig. 5 is a plan section on enlarged scale of thevplane-carried wire element inserted in the socket of the throwingstick, whichA maybe considered as taken on. the line 5-5 of-Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken on the line E-S of Fig. 5 andlooking rearwardly;

Figy'l isa viewsimilar to Fig. 5 but showing a modied form of wiremember; and

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical section of modified formof throwingstick.

The toy plane l0 Yper se is of well known construction and includ-esafuselage il I, a front wing IZ, a tail plane I3, and a rudder M.' Therudder may be conveniently mounted in a rudder slot l5, the tail planein a tail plane slot I6 and the front wing may be applied, for mosteconomical manufacture, by the simple expedient of a rubber band il.Especially where balsa wood is employed, the nose of the fuselagemay beweighted with a shot I8.

The plane-carriediportion I9 `of the throwing apparatus is preferablyformed Yfrom spring wire` and is in the form` of a hairpin shaped shank2l) depending obliquely yfrom the fuselage beneath the wing and securedthereto by means of crossed oit-sets 2| in the legs of the wirecontinuing. upwardly to lateral Y 'fuselage-embracing portions (Cl.Liii- 50) 22 and terminating in in-turned ends 23 pressed finto thefuselage. The wire is preferably set into a slot Ztl on the bottom edgeof the fuselage to 'anchor the wire against turning about the inturnedends 23.'

Apart `from the throwing function of the wire i9 which will presentlybedescribed, the shank 2S of the wirev forms an` eiective landing skidfor the plane. Since the spring wire is resilient, the plane may landwithout shock, and the ren 10 tarding drag of Ithe skid will slowdownthespeed, generally bythe momentum of theplane, forcing the nosedownwardly, so that the airplane is practically stoppjed before thefragile wings strike the ground. In this way the wings are in generalprotected from breakage in landing.` .The wire also holds the tail planeup oiT 'the ground so there is less danger of its catching onprojectionsand being injured.

The remaining portion of the throwingrappa 20 kratus is athrowing stick25, which comprises a wood shaft having asocket fitting 2l at the outerend-having a hosel 28 into which the shaft is inserted and retained byprick punches 2S. The outer-end of the tting 2i' presents an open- 25ended socket 30 flattened into oval cross-section. It is into thissocket that the shankvend 2li of the wire i9 is inserted, as showninFig. 5. The dotted line vposition of the wire shank 2i) Yin Fig.5gshows its normal contour. The sides of 4the shank portion aresqueezed'together some-` whatto insert it into the socket, whereby 'thewire exerts a considerable friction against the lateral edges of thesocket. Y

In `throwing the plane, one end of the stick is held in the hand andthrown from an upper position, as by movement of the forearm and a snap`of the wrist down toa little above a horizontal positionthe positionshownV in Fig. `'4., While the throwing stick is being swung to the 40position of Fig. 4, the tendency of theplane to fly off the stick isresisted by the friction of the ,wire within thesocket. But by the timethestick has reached the position of Fig. Ll, and the stick is stoppedagainst further movement, the momenturn of the plane is sucient toovercornethe friction of the wire shank Z@ and pull it out of thesocket. AOne of the Voutstanding advantages of the frictional retentionbetween the socket and the Shanks in the throwing apparatus for theairplane is that Vif the operator does not swing the throwing stickwithsucient speedthere is not enough centrifugal force builtup toovercome the `friction and free the airplane. On the other handit .thereis sufcient speed in the swing to vflight has many advantages.

build up the necessary centrifugal force to overcome the frictionalretention there is, in all probability, sufficient speed imparted to theairplane for satisfactory flight. Since toy airplanes of the typeillustrated are usually so made that they will return to the operator,this feature of my invention practically insures that either asuccessful night will be made or the airplane will not be discharged atall. This eliminates the kannoyance of the operator having to walk somedistanceto pick up the airplane whichrwould otherwise have beendischarged with insufficient speed for flight.

The arrangement of this throwing apparatus so that the socket and shankpull apart in the direction of an acute angle to the direction of lf thethrowing stick for the toy airplane were to follow the construction ofthe prior art where a projectile is discharged from a shank and socketconnection 'with the throwing stick in the same direction as thedirection of flight, the momentum imparted to the airplane would be onlythat developed by the centrifugal force of the swing. There would istrue,not be quite so great, other factors being equal. This is becauseonly a component of the full centrifugal-'force would be applied topropelling the airplane in the 'direction of flight..

But, on the other hand, with my device the move- Vmen't'of the swing ofthe airplane, which is arcuate about the operators wrist or elbow as acenter, has a subs-tantial component in the direction of flight. Thedirection of flight component of the swinging movement is added to thatof the centrifugal force. The suml of these two componentsris greaterthan would be the full centrifugal force in the instance of the shankand socket separating in the direction of flight. v I, therefore,achieve by my arrangement a greater impetus to the airplane in thedirection of night than would be achieved by an application of--theprior art projectile throwing arrangement to a toy airplane. Y

Where the previouslyY discussed advantage of the frictional retention ofthe airplane with the `throwingstick iscombined with thisv lastdiscussed feature` of the direction of separation being at an acuteangle to the direction of flight, it

`will be seen, even though the entire centrifugal yforce were expendedupon overcoming the friction ofthe shank within the'socket, there wouldstillbe ample impetus to the plane for successful night due to thedirection of nig-ht component f ofthe swinging movement of the airplane.

My invention has the further advantage that in the swinging oftheairplane by the throwing stick, the wings are traveling through the airat an angle Vof' 45 degrees, more or less, to the direction of swingrand the airV offers a resistance ori reaction to the wings whichtend towithdraw the shank from the socket, thereby lessening the amount ofcentrifugal force which must be expended upon overconiing`th'e1frictionbetween the socket and the shank for releasing the airplane for flight.

There is a certain loss of momentum of the plane due to its having toovercome the friction of the wire in the socket. This momentum is, to acertain extent, reimparted to the plane by so arranging the spring wireconstituting the shank 2@ that as it finally emerges from the socket3E), the spreading apart of the legs of the wire shank adjacent its end,by virtue of the inherent resiliency of the spring wire, gives acam-like action between the shank legs and the mouth of the socket,pushing or springing the shank forwardly.

If desired the friction may be increased by giving the inside walls ofthe socket 3@ more of a frictional surface, as by a coat of dull paint.The frictional characteristic may also be predetermined-andadjustably-by setting the legs of the shank closer together for lesserfriction, or spreading them apart for greater friction. This is done bybending the wire beyond its elastic limit. For use by smaller childrenit is generally advisable to bend the shanks of the wire closer togetherto reduce the friction. The normal spacing of the legs of the shank,which-they assume after withdrawal from the socket, is limited by thecrossing of the offset portions 2 l. Another function of the crossedoffset portions is to prevent a spreading apart of the legs of the wireshank from pulling the lateral fuselage-embracing portions 22 of thewire apart. Thus, the portions 22 always snugly embrace the fuselageand, together with the slot 2li, anchor the wire rigidly upon thefuselage, except for the inherent resilient ilexibility of the wire.

As the throwing stick comes to its final position before the wire iswithdrawn from the socket, the continued monentum of the plane tendsvsomewhat to tip the plane downwardly. Oifsetting this tendency, thereis a slight upward tilt given the plane in the final withdrawal of thewire from the socket. Because the wire leaves the socket ordinarilybefore the stick reached its final down movement, there is some slightdown pressure on the socket Vtending to push the far end of the wireshank 2li downwardly. As the airh-as considerable resistance against thefront wing, the front wing acts somewhat as a fulcrum about which theplane -is slightly tilted by the final engagement of the wire in thesocket afterthe wire has been withdrawn far enough to permit a verticalswinging of the wire in the socket. f f

With the particular design of plane here shown, there is aitendency `toelevate the plane at high speeds. Consequently the plane when dischargedfrom the throwing stick at highl speed will describe an inside loop,after which, with lesser speed, it will glide more or Ylesshorizontally. 'it is not necessary, however, *that the throwing stick beswung through a strictlyvertical plane, if the plane through which it isswung is tilted somewhat the airplane will be banked and describe ahorizontal circle.

VIn Figf? I have shown a modified form of wire le whereithe legs 2Qofthe shank are not hairpin shape, but are divergent with free ends. Asshown in the primary and secondary dotted line positions of Fig. 7, thenormal contour assumed by the legs maybe suchas to give even more ofa'cainming effect and, therefore, a greater forward spring las the wireleaves the socket. This form also has the advantage that the spreadapart lower ends of the legs of the wire shank give the planeanopportunity to. make a threepoint landing] further protectingA the.wings against damage by impact with the ground.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a modied throwing stick which may cooperate witha wire shank in start of the throw, while the stick is held more Vorless vertically, the slug has gravitated to the handle end of thethrowing stick. As the stick is swung sharply toward the horizontal,centrifugal force `throws the slug toward the socket end of the stickwhere it is calculated to impact the end of the shank 20, when the stickreaches its final release position, pushing or knocking the shank out ofthe socket and imparting enough momentum tothe shank end and hence tothe plane to offset in whole or in part the loss of momentum otherwiserequired to overcomethe friction between the shank and socket. In fact,if the slug beof suicient weight, the momentum imparted to the plane maybe more than enough to overcome the friction, and.

thus add to the resulting momentum of the departing plane. cammedagainst the attened socket end of the tube, when it has completed itsoutward movement, it is automaticallydislodged by the insertion of thewire shank 2b for the next throwing of the plane.

i It will be observed in all ofthe forms herein disclosed that theconnection between the shank and socket is one which prevents relativelrotation of the stick and plane, whereby greater accuracy of control isaiforded than in those types of throwing devices heretofore employedusing a stick with a cord interposed between the plane and the stick.

I prefer to place the shank onthe plane and the socket on the stick,rather than 'the socket on the plane and the shank on the stick, becausefor most constructions the shank may more conveniently be made light inweight as, for instance, by using the wire shank shown, while the socketmember tends to be heavier.

In the airplane shown, the center of gravity comes beneath substantiallythe mid-point of the front wing. The wire shank is anchored to thefuselage slightly ahead of this point. Thus, taking into account theflexibility of the wire, the throwing stick imparts a pull rather than apush to the plane, which tends to stabilize the plane, as against thetendency to shimmy in throwing it. i

While I have thus described these specific embodiments of my invention,I contemplate that many changes and substitutions may be made withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit or my invention.

I claim:

l. The combination with a toy airplane, of a throwing device thereforcomprising a shank portion,'a socket portion for receiving the shankportion for non-rotatable 'longitudinal reciprocation therein, and athrowing stick, one of the portions being carried by the. airplane andthe other being carried by the stick at the end thereof, the shankportions being slid apart by the momentum of the airplane resulting fromthe swinging of the stick.

If the ball or slug 3| is tightly` 2. The combination with a toyairplane, of a throwing device therefor lcomprising a shank portion, asocket portion for receiving the shank portion for non-rotatablelongitudinal reciprocation therein, and a throwing stick, the shankportion being carried by the airplane and the socket portion beingcarried by the stick at one end'thereof, the shank being pulled fromVthe stick by the momentum of the airplane'resulting from the swingingof the stick.

3. Thecombination with a toyv airplane, of a throwing device thereforcomprising a shank portion, a socket portion for receiving the shankportion, and a throwing stick, the shank portion being carried by theplane and depending from the underside thereof, and the socket portionbeing carried by the stick at one end thereof, the shank being pulledfrom the stick by the momentum of the airplane resulting from theswinging of the stick.

4. The combination with a toy airplane comprising Aa fuselage, a frontAwing and a tail wing,

of a shank depending from the fuselage below the front wingandconstituting a landing skid, and a throwing stick having a socket atits outer end for slidably receiving the shank frictionally to retainthe latter,-said irictional retention being releasable by theY momentumim'- parted to the plane by the swinging of the stick, the shank beingnon-rotatably received in the sleeve and non-rotatably mounted upon theairplane, whereby the airplaneis precluded from turning with referenceto the throwing stick.

5. The combination with a toy airplane comprising a fuselage, a frontwing and a tail wing, of a shank depending from the fuselage below thefront wing and constituting a landing skid. and a throwing stick havingVa socket at its outer end for slidablyreceiving the shank frictionallyto retain the latter, said frictional retention be- .ing releasable bythe momentum imparted to the plane by the swinging of the stick, theshank being non-rotatably received in the sleeve and non-rotatablymounted upon the airplane, whereby the airplane is precluded fromturning in reference to the throwing stick, the shank comprising ahairpin-shaped wire having its releasable by theA momentum imparted tothe plane by the swinging of the stick, the shank being non-rotatablyreceived in the sleeve and non-rotatably mounted upon the airplane,

whereby the airplane is precluded from turning in reference to thethrowing stick, the shank comprising a pair of spaced wires having theirfree ends outermost, whereby the shank affords a two-point contact whenserving at a landing skid.

7. The combination with a toy airplane comprising a fuselage and a wing,of a wire member comprising a hairpin-shaped shank member dependingobliquely from the fuselage, the inner ends of the legs of thehairpin-shaped shank crossing each other and extending upwardlylaterally to embrace the respective sides of the fuselage andterminating in ends extending into the fuselage, whereby the shankportion is xedly anchored to the fuselage, and a throwing stick having asocket I.at one end forlnon-rotatably slidably receiving the shankportion, they legs of the shank portion exerting a spreading actionagainst the socket frictionally to retain the shank in the socket butreleasable by the momentum given the plane by the swinging of thethrowing stick. l Y

48. The combination,with` a toy airplane coinprising a fuselage anda'wing, of a wire meinber comprising a hairpin-shaped shank meinberdepending obliquely from the fuselage, the

inner ends of the legs ofr the hairpin-shaped shank crossing each otherand extending upwardly laterally to embrace the respective ides of thefuselage andA terminating in ends extending .into the fuselage, wherebythe shank portion is fixedly anchored to theY fuselage, and a throwingstick having a socket' at one end for nonrotatably slidably receivingthe shank portion,'the legs of the shank portion exerting a spreadingaction Vl'against the socketfrictionally to retain the shank inthesocket but releasable by the momentum given the plane by the swinging ofthe throwing stick, said anchoring of the shank to the fuselage beingforwardly of the center of gravity of the airplane.

vQ. The combination with a toy airplane, of a shank member :protrudingthereiroin, anc a throwing stick having a socket for receiving the shankportion and retaining it under friction but releasable by the momentumgiven the airplane by the swinging of the stick, a runway extendinglongitudinally of the throwing stick, a weight slidable therealong andadapted at the outer end of its travel to Contact the shank and drive.it out of the socket, the weight eing driven to the socket end of thestick by the swinging of the stick, whereby the impact imparted to theshank by the weight offsets in part at least the loss of momentum of theairplane in withdrawing the shank from the socket.

portion protruding therefrom and'ad'apte'd to be received in saidsocket, said Weight, when the stick is swung, passing outwardly throughthe tube under centrifugal force to impact the socket tion, one of theportions being carried by the airplane and the other being carried bythe stick at theV end thereof, said device including friction means forfrictionally retaining the shank portion in the socket portion againstWithdrawal by momentum oi the airplane less than that required Vfor 'itsminimum flying speed but releasabie under a greater momentum than theairplane, whereby it is' practically insured that if the frictionalretention. is overcome to discharge the airplane, the airplane will bedischarged at the minimum flying speed` 12. The combination with atoyrairplane, of a throwing device ,therefor `comprising a shankportiona socket portion for receiving the shank portion .fornonrotatable longitudinal reciprocation therein, and a throwing stick,one of the pori tions being carried by the airplane and positionedobliquely to the plane of flight t-,.ereof and the otheribeing carriedby the stick at the end thereof, the shank and socketl portions beingslid apart by the nioinenturn of thev airplane resulting from theswinging oi the stick.

i3. in a toy airplane, which is to be used with a throwing stick havingan end socket, the cornbination comprising a fuselage, a front wing, atail wing and a shank depending from the fuselage below the iront wing,said shank constituting a landing skid and being adapted to befrictionally received in said end socket, said being reieasable fromsaid end socket as said friction. of the shank is overcome by themomentum imparted to said airplane by the swing of said throwing stick.`

i LEO I. FINCKE.

